'The Flash': Spinoff more sci-fi than 'Arrow'

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“The Flash” may be a spinoff of “Arrow,” but the potential CW series will have more of a science-fiction feel to it than the earlier DC Comics-based show.

Greg Berlanti, executive producer of “Arrow” and the “Flash” pilot, explains the differences between the two shows in an interview with Digital Spy. With the sci-fi feel, “The Flash” has the option of bringing in more characters with super powers — whereas “Arrow” mostly keeps to a heightened reality.

A lot of this has to do with the differences between the main characters in “Arrow” and “The Flash,” played by Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin, respectively.

“Barry [in ‘The Flash’] is different from Oliver,” Berlanti explains. “He’s a man of science and has more of a sci-fi bent, whereas ‘Arrow’ has a bit more of a crime bent.”

The differences in themes will also reflect the worldviews of Oliver and Barry. “Barry has an effervescence and a lightness, but there’s still a dark well beneath that,” Berlanti says of Barry Allen. Oliver queen, in contrast, is a hopeful optimist in his belief that Starling City can be saved.

Finally, there is the basic fact that “The Flash” begins with the explosion of a particle collider that imbues Barry with incredible speed. That same accident could create a host of other powers to both help and hurt Barry.

“Arrow” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. “The Flash” pilot is in production and, if it’s picked up to series, would air during the 2014-15 season.